Bodybuilding Program for Feb 1, 2016
The new cycle for the Fitness and Bodybuilding programs at San Diego Athletics will begin on Monday February 1st. These articles will answer all of your questions about the specifics of the program, and take you day by day through your training for the next few months.
The overriding characteristic of this cycle of the Bodybuilding program is “freedom.” It is important to make sure each area of the body is targeted properly – but within the parameters established there are many options of personalization that you can apply to the program.
For example, as you peruse the structure of the program, you will see that I list a movement pattern, but I don’t specify the precise nature of the movement. I say “pull-ups” and you can choose rings or bar, as well as wide-grip, or chin-ups (with a supinated grip) or chest-to-bar, or whatever other variety of pull-up you prefer.
Along the same line, I say Bench Press, and you can choose Incline or flat. I say DB bench, and you have the same option. I say Rowing movement, and you can choose chest-supported with DB or BB, or bent-over row with DB or BB, or even the 1-arm variety performed with knee on bench or as a “Kroc Row” holding an object with your off-hand for support.
The only thing I advise, is to stay consistent with your movement choices throughout the cycle, so that you can properly gauge progress.
The Rep Scheme for each movement on Monday and Wednesday will be 12-9-6-3 or 12-9-6-6. This option is relevant for more advanced athletes to lift a bit heavier with the 3-rep set, while the more novice athletes may want to keep the weights slightly lighter by performing 2 sets of 6 instead.
For all movements, follow these guidelines:
- Set of 12 – Light weight, approx 55-60% of 1 RM
- Set of 9 – Add weight to about 65-70% of 1 RM
- Set of 6 – Add weight to about 75-80% of 1 RM (novice athletes complete 2x6 at this weight)
- Set of 3 – Add weight to about 85-90% of 1 RM (only for advanced athletes)
Male Example based off of 300# max squat:
- 165 x 12
- 195 x 9
- 225 x 6 (2x6 for novice)
- 255 x 3 (only for advanced)
Female Example based off of 170# max squat:
- 100 x 12
- 115 x 9
- 130 x 6 (2x6 for novice)
- 145 x 3 (only for advanced)
The Specifics and Movements
Below, I provide the details of the strength training program. Before I get too carried away with all that, I should mention that Tuesdays and Thursdays will continue to be “conditioning” days. On Tuesdays, Bodybuilding will have their own conditioning day, while on Thursdays, Bodybuilding and Fitness will share a conditioning day, oftentimes in the form of a long team workout, or slow steady-pace cardiovascular-based session.
Mondays:
A1. Pull-ups / Inverted Rows (choice of bar or rings)
A2. Dips / Push-ups (choice of rings or bars)
B1. Hang Snatch High Pulls (pull to underneath chin)
B2. Squat (choice of Back or Front Squat)
C1. Curls (choice of DB or BB)
C2. Strict Overhead press (choice of DB or BB)
Wednesdays:
A1. Rowing variation (choice of One-Arm DB, BB, or chest-supported)
A2. Bench Press (choice of incline or flat)
B1. Hang Power Cleans
B2. DB Bench (opposite of choice from A2)
C1. Split Squats (choice of Front-Rack, Back-Rack, or holding DB’s)
C2. Strict HSPU (Scale as Box HSPU or HS Hold for time in place of reps)
Fridays:
As we move into the training for Fridays, we need to look back at the Monday and Wednesday training to determine a few things.
Friday’s training is going to be dubbed “Freedom Friday,” and it will consist of 4 movements. 3 of these 4 movements must come from Mondays and Wednesday training. You will choose one movement for each of the following areas of the body:
- Upper body push – Dips, Push-ups, Strict Overhead Press, Bench Press variation, HSPU
- Upper body pull – Pull up variation, Inverted Rows, Rowing variation (as described above)
- Legs/Hips – Squat (front or back), Split Squat variation
***Note that the Hang clean and the Hang High Pulls could be used as an upper body pull movement or as a leg/hip movement (more details below)
After you choose your 3 movements for Friday, you will choose a 4th movement. This movement is completely up to you. It can be anything – even a metabolic movement, like Burpees, Box Jumps, Wall-Balls, Double-unders, etc… It can also be another strength move, such as a Deadlift, an RDL, or a core movement like Toes to Bar, GHD, etc… You can literally choose anything you want!
***Note that if you choose to do a Deadlift or an RDL, you should choose a Hang high pull or a Hang power clean as your “leg/hip” movement, so that you aren’t having to deadlift and squat heavy in the same day
The final element of the Friday training is the specific method of performance. The Friday workouts will be performed as 6 Rounds of 5 Reps for each movement, resting as long as needed to ensure you can make all the reps in each set with quality form. For all movements, you will use 85% of the weight from the 6-rep set on Monday or Wednesday. As the 6-rep set increases in weight, so will the 85% number that you use for Friday’s training. Example:
6 Rounds of 5 reps for each movement:
- Bench Press with 205 lbs (based on using 235 lbs for set of 6 on Wednesday)
- Chest-Supported DB Rows with 75 lb DB’s (based on using 90 lb DB’s on Wednesday)
- Front Squats with 235 lbs (based on using 275 lbs for set of 6 on Monday)
- Burpees x AMRAP 30 seconds (5 reps not a necessary requirement for this type of movement)
What to do with Bodyweight movements?
For bodyweight movements (like pull-ups, Dips, and HSPU), the rep scheme starting with 12 reps as a “warm-up” probably won’t work for most people. There are a few options to proceed on these movements:
- Utilize a scaled movement for the first few sets of the progression (i.e. maybe you use Ring Rows for 12 and 9 reps, then do pull-ups for sets of 6).
- Utilize a rep-scheme that doesn’t start as high, but still descends with each set (i.e. 10-8-6-4, or even something like 6-5-4-3), just for these difficult bodyweight movements.
- Completely ignore the descending rep scheme protocol, and just complete 4 sets of as many reps as you can achieve. First, make sure to perform 1 set of a warm-up, utilizing the scaled movement.
- Final possibility – For my athletes that can only do 1-2 reps of pull-ups or dips, complete EMOM of movement and completely ignore the descending rep scheme. In this case, the EMOM may start with 1 pull-up each minute for 10 minutes. Then the next week, try for 2 pullups on the first minute, then 1 pullup for the next 9 min. Then the third week, complete 2 pullups for 2-3 minutes, and finish the last 7-8 minutes with 1 pull-up etc…). Always striving for small bits of improvement.
Closing Thoughts
The “Freedom Friday” stuff is really cool for a number of reasons. First and foremost, it provides you all some options, and allows you to focus on the movements which you desire the most drastic improvements.
Secondarily, if you dedicate yourself to the Friday training, you will find that the process of performing a high volume of sets at sub-failure loads will translate into more effective results during the Monday and Wednesday strength training.
For each of the three mandatory movement patterns on Fridays, try to focus on the cerebral side of training – find the perfect position to explode from and work on the breathing and timing of your reps.
Overall, this should be a really cool cycle. I am excited that you all have progressed to the point that I feel comfortable providing you with freedom of movement choices like this. I look forward to watching you guys crush PR’s. As always, I am here to answer any questions you may have.
